Tensions Between The Colonies And Great Britain example essay topic

A number of issues raised tensions between the colonies and Great Britain. The already tense atmosphere was pushed even further with a number of taxes, acts and proclamations passed by Britain. These numerous acts usually dealt with taxes and other issues that came into conflict with the independent nature of the American colonists. No one issue was solely responsible for the eventual American Revolution.

Though all of these added together raised the resentment to a boiling point and all contributed to the revolution. The harsh frontier life led to the independent and often stubborn nature of the American Colonists. This development of this unique colonial personality conflicted drastically with the norms of the British Empire. This cultural personality also led to the passionately independent and democratic political leanings of the young colonies. The end of the French Indian War left bitter tensions amongst the Native American tribes, Britain and the colonists. The Native tribes were understandably upset with the outcome of the French Indian War.

The French had treated the natives fairly and in general, honestly as well. Furthermore they accepted and often adopted the dress or culture of the Natives. This was in contrast to the crooked dealings, corruption and arrogance the Native Americans encountered with the British. The British even denied the very humanity of the American Indian and were contemptuous of the Native culture. After the French were defeated the British continued to treat the Natives unfairly.

The Natives were further angered when they were informed that there were now expected to be loyal subjects of a foreign king. With the French gone, even more colonist trickled into Indian lands. The colonists saw the land as a war prize and were eager to expand their settlements. More forts were consequently built to protect and regulate the frontier. The Native tribes were alarmed with the British domination and saw their land and culture slipping away. This tension amongst the tribes led to a resurgence of Native culture.

A movement embracing the fundamentals of Native traditions that rejected the western culture gained ground. Pontiac, a chief and great orator used his influence to build alliance and untied fellow tribes against the British. The Native Americans launched a bloody war, conquering at least eight British forts. This conflict was called Pontiac's Rebellion. The tensions and violence frightened the colonist and angered the British. The colonists expected the British to protect them.

Their fear led to more racial violence against the Native population. This conflict lasted from 1763 until a truce was at last finalized in 1766. Britain instituted the Proclamation of 1763 in response to the Native American threat and the racial tensions that permeated the colonial frontier. This proclamation attempted to appease and reassure the natives who feared colonial expansion. The Proclamation of 1763 formed four additional colonies and closed the frontier to further expansion. The colonies formed were Quebec, East and West Florida and Grenada.

The frontier was closed to settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. An Indian reserve was set aside west of the Appalachian Mountains and the natives were placed under protection of the king. This act required settlers in the banned area to abandon their farms and land. British troops were sent to enforce the Proclamation, as the crown had no faith that the colonist would obey. The colonists were enraged by the Proclamation. The colonists had supported the French Indian War fully expecting to receive more frontier land as the prize of war.

The Proclamation seemed to steal the valuable land from them, as the colonists saw the situation. Most colonists had no respect for the native tribes and did not believe that the native tribes had any claim to the land and resented Britain handing over valuable land to the natives. The colonists also claimed that Britain was attempting to keep the colonies on the coast under British control and easily accessible for taxation. This may well have been true as well. Britain did want to prevent conflict between the colonists and the natives, and the Proclamation did help the situation, though it was difficult to enforce. The American Revenue Act of 1764 or The Sugar Act as it is more commonly referred to as, touched off a nerve throughout the colonies.

A modification of the detested Molasses Act of 1733, the Sugar Act imposed and provided stricter enforcement of taxes and commercial regulations on the colonies. Although it lowered a few taxes, the Act provided a tax on foreign refined sugar, and higher taxes on coffee, indigo, certain wines and other variously traded goods. It also banned importation of rum and French wines. The Sugar Act also regulated the trade of key colonial exports such as lumber, iron and other natural resources. This Act further burdened the colonial economy by limiting the markets available for its goods and disrupting trade in general. In contrast to earlier taxes, this act was equipped for enforcement and Britain was serious about collecting revenue.

The smuggling and questionable trades of the colonies were now dealt with harshly. The colonies had suffered consistent shortages of currency, which was needed to conduct trade. The lack of gold and silver mines hindered the colonial fluid economy. The only source for currency available to the colonies was as a result of trade, and this trade was tightly regulated by Britain. Many colonies turned to printing their own types of money and financial notes. Britain and many merchants detested these colonial practices as difficult, confusing and economically unstable.

In 1764 Parliament stepped in with the Currency Acts. These laws gave parliament control of the colonial currency system and prohibited the issue of any new colonial monies and did away with the previous currency. Parliament preferred a hard money system rather than paper. Parliament also established a new judicial court. The Vice Admiralty court was established to ensure that smugglers and customs violators would have their hearings in British leaning courts. The colonies protested these new acts and felt Britain was hindering the growing economy rather than aiding it.

The Stamp Act of 1765 was a notorious bit of taxation that angered colonist and spurred much of the resistance. This act was, like many of the others, intended to increase British tax revenue. This was spurred on largely by the huge debt that Britain accumulated during the French Indian War. The military costs remained high after the war as well with no end in sight. The continuing native and foreign threats necessitated British troops in the colonies and surrounding areas. Parliament felt that the colonies should share the financial burden of their own defense.

This tax again touched off colonial resistance. The colonists denied Britain's right to tax them, especially without representation. The colonists raised political, judicial and theoretical arguments that challenged Britain sovereignty in the colonies. The Stamp Act mandated a tax on all kinds of paper and official documents. The Declarative Act reaffirmed Britain's right to legislate and tax the colonies as it saw fit.

This naturally fostered more hostility in the colonies. In the year 1767 Parliament reduced British land taxes. To offset this cut Parliament agreed to tax the American colonies enough to make up the difference. This of course evoked bitter resentment throughout the colonies and rallied the colonies to speak out, resist and boycott British items. These taxes and regulations were known as the Townsend Duties. This authorized import duties on paper, lead, glass, tea and other products shipped from Britain.

It also established Admiralty courts in the colonies to act as federal courts that avoided the use of local juries. The widespread opposition even led to violence such as the Boston Massacre. Miserable failures, most of the Townsend duties were repealed with the exception of the tax on imported tea. A rowdy and loud protest in Boston in March of 1770 escalated to violence with local British soldiers. The soldiers surrounded and eventually shot a number of the civilian protests. Regardless of who was really to blame in the incident, colonists seized on this violent act as proof that Britain was a vicious oppressor.

This launched more resistance and rallied colonists against Britain. Although most of the duties were repealed, the persistence of the tea tax and the expansion in the Tea Act of 1773 upset the colonists. The tax and general colonial resistance to any British tax led to a great deal of smuggling. The tea tax became a focal point for all of the colonists? frustrations and beliefs that the British taxation was unfair. These tensions over tea rose until the infamous Boston Tea Party of 1773. Then colonists attacked and took over stores of tea on ships in the harbor, dumping hundreds of crates into the Boston Harbor.

A series of punitive acts were also passed, named Restraining Acts by the British, and referred to as the Coercive or Intolerable Acts by the colonists. These acts were passed in response to the Boston Tea Party and the generalized rebellious attitude of the colonies. Britain intended to exert its authority, quash the rebellious nature of the colonists and set an example for the other colonies. These acts eventually led to the First Continental Congress of 1774. This gathering declared the Coercive acts unconstitutional and urged resistance. The Boston Port Act of June 1774 closed Boston's harbor until financial restitution for the Boston Tea Party was made.

This naturally enraged colonists, near and far from Boston. The Boston Harbor was essential for the trade that Boston merchants relied on as well as the outlying areas and farmers. The Administration of Justice Act helped to protect British officials from being tried in colonial courts. The Massachusetts Government Act effectively nullified the colony's charter and gave Britain nearly complete control over the governing of the colony. This act angered colonists and sparked their independent nature. The number of troops needed in the colonies and the lack of military infrastructure led to many logistical problems for Britain.

To remedy the situation Parliament passed a series of acts called the Quartering Acts starting in early 1765. The first set of acts required the colonies to provide barracks for the troops as well as being responsible for supplying them with the necessary provisions. Additional acts required the boarding of troops in inns, alehouses and private residences. These acts were seen as a great intrusion to the colonists.

They resented the invasive ness of the acts as well as the financial burdens. This issue was even mentioned in the Declaration of Independence as a point of contention and oppression. New York led the resistance to the Quartering acts. As the British commander's headquarters, the New York colony argued it carried an unfair portion of the financial burden. The colony initially protested and limited the services and goods it was willing to provide. The defiance increased until December of 1766 when New York refused to honor any of the Quartering Acts.

Predictably Britain retaliated. The issue was eventually settled though not to any side's full satisfaction. British and colonial relations were never perfect and they seriously and quickly deteriorated in the years after 1763. In the Declaration of Independence the colonists pointed to issues such as the quartering of troops and unrepresented taxation among the key issues leading to the declaration. All of these issues as well as the very nature and personality of the American colonists resulted in the eventual war with Great Britain.